Friday, January 10, 2014

Meal Planning

Around October of last year, I came up with a new meal planning system.
It's only been in my head. I haven't told my family that I'm doing it.

Through the years I've tried lots of things. Freezer meals. Once a week cooking. A weekly meal plan where I have meals mapped out 7 days at a time.
But I'm fickle. I may not WANT what is set for a certain day.
And I'm flighty. Oops, we have ball practice and a choir concert tonight! Guess I won't be making that lasagna after all!

What has worked the best, until now, was to just go buy groceries. Then when I got home I'd take inventory of everything I just bought and make a list of possible meals. Throughout the week, I could go to that list and choose what sounded most appealing that day, and what I had time to make. I'd cross it off, narrowing down the options each day. I do still like this system a lot.

I want a little structure, but not too much structure. I still want flexibility.(I'm not demanding at all, huh?)
I'm pretty creative in the kitchen and can usually whip up a meal from a handful of ingredients. I don't follow many recipes well.
I came up with Theme Nights.

Monday - Mexican Monday. This could be burritos, tacos, taco soup, a Mexican casserole... just whatever I have on hand that I can pull a Mexican flavored meal from.

Wednesday - Crockpot Wednesday. Wednesday is usually a big jewelry production day here. So a slow cooker is my best option. We buy a 1/4 cow, and a hog each year. The meat is kept in the deep freezer. So on crockpot Wednesday, I just go grab a hunk of meat and throw it in the crockpot with flavoring. It may be a ham that I dump in a can of pineapple, Terryaki sauce and brown sugar over. It may be a beef roast that I throw in some carrots, potatoes, and celery chunks. It may be a pork roast that I dump a jar of green salsa on. (This is amazzzzing, by the way!)

Thursday - Sandwich Thursday. It is sometimes grilled cheese and soup. Sometimes sub sandwiches. Sometimes quesadillas. Paninis. BBQ pork on hoagie rolls. I usually incorporate a leftover meat or soup from earlier in the week on Sandwich Thursday. Anything wrapped in a bread item or tortilla, I consider a "sandwich" on this night.

Friday - Leftover Friday. I cook large portions, generally. So Fridays are a perfect night to do leftovers.

Saturday - Fend for yourself. Mama's tired. She's worked and cooked all week.

Sunday - Mom's choice. This one might be my favorite. Other than church, we don't have a strict Sunday schedule, usually. So I can take my time and enjoy myself in the kitchen! We'll do a big lasagna, pancakes eggs & bacon, biscuits & gravy, steaks, or whatever I want that takes more time than I have on a weeknight.

So far, even without knowing I was actually doing this, my family has made numerous comments about "wow mom! You've made a lot of homemade meals lately! It's been really good!"

In 2008 I used to have my meals planned out for the week and would shop once a week for needed groceries. It worked out perfect and my life so easier. I haven't done that in yrs! I now have 4 kids, ages 5-10, and I desperately need to get to it again. I think I will try this Theme idea!!!

great idea to do themes. I just make a list of meals, buy the ingredients and then I decide which one to have each day. I tried once listing specifically what we would have each day and it never worked. Love your idea-i may have to try it :)

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The Rusted Chain specializes in handmade artisan custom rustic handcrafted hand stamped sterling silver jewelry, including necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, as well as coordinate and sponsor the Kansas Barn Sale. Oh and run on sentences too.